Food Trucks Are Booming

Chef Shaun Stecklein of Downtown BBQ and his smokin’ hot BBQ trailer. Photo by markhirschphoto@gmail.com 

Food Trucks are fun and they are a serious, booming industry with sales in the billions predicted for 2018. The Platteville Business Incubator is thrilled to be hosting three food trucks: Downtown Barbeque, The Lunch Bus and Our Kitchen. “We’re committed to supporting these food entrepreneurs and we have capacity to bring on added chefs into the Incubator’s 350 square-foot kitchen,” said Kate Koziol, Executive Director at the Incubator. 

Amy Pohle and Tiffany Donahoe are the fairy godmothers of the Platteville food truck scene. They got started at the Incubator way back in 2012, bringing The Lunch Bus to city events, catered events, and making regional visits. The Lunch Bus will be out and about again this year, but under new ownership. Doreen Hlavaty, Dorothy Price, and Chef Ed will continue with The Lunch Buses’ locally sourced grilled sandwiches and will be introducing sandwiches not often seen in the area, including Italian beef, Philly cheese steak and Chicago style hotdogs. Expansion into Cajun entrées and breakfast options are also being explored. 

Chef Ed comes to us from Chicago, including time on food trucks, in restaurants and catering at large venues such as Soldier Field. The Lunch Bus will offer a wide variety of catered items that extend far beyond the sandwich menu. Ed is a Le Cordon Bleu trained chef and has been in the business for eight years. “Nothing makes me happier than seeing the look on peoples face when they taste my food,” said Chef Ed. 

Chef Shaun Stecklein of Downtown Barbeque got his truck started late in 2017, but has been perfecting his recipes for years. “I became interested in barbeque when I’d go visit my Dad down in Texas. I fell in love with barbeque, and I always felt Platteville needed a good barbeque restaurant.” Downtown BBQ has been building business all winter, catering events for many clients, and he is building a strong reputation. They have a full barbeque line up such as brisket, pulled pork, ribs, sausage, smoked brats, chicken, baked beans, green beans, potato salad, coleslaw, and beer cheese mac and cheese. They are also exploring bottling their custom sauces. 

“We’ll be at many summer festivals, events, and around town, the best way to track us will be via Facebook where we will continually post our whereabouts,” added Chef Shaun. 

Chefs John and Laura Lee are brand new to the food truck scene, but have been wowing friends and family for years, particularly with dessert items. Their “Our Kitchen” truck will be specializing in foods made with LOVE. Chef John has been baking since he was a kid and picked up many of his recipes from his grandma. He spent most of his career working as an Ag mechanic, but his heart has always been with cooking. “What I love about this business is making food for others to enjoy, and I am looking forward to this next chapter in bringing great food to this region.” 

In addition to food trucks, the Incubator Commercial Kitchen is able to host food product production runs, farmer’s market product line production or other developing food business needs. Several non-profit organizations have been able to use the kitchen for their charitable baking and candy making. If you are a want-to-be-food truck, or want to use the commercial kitchen for other food business, contact Kate at the Platteville Business Incubator at (608) 348-2758 to learn more or to take a tour. Basic food safety courses are required for all users.